"We have 250 tables that we can seat," said WSOP Director Gary Thompson. "We can accommodate up to 3,000 players with alternates." To accommodate this field, cash games and satellites will be shut down until tables are freed up after all alternates are seated.
Michael Slobojan from Colorado returned with his wife and two daughters. He played in this event last year, and this time around he's an alternate. "I'm in the front side of the alternates as I got here about 9:00AM. So it's just sit here and wait."
Last year's record number of participants occurred in the $1.5k NLH events at the start of the World Series with 2,776 players. This record was then shattered in the $1.5k NLH event preceding the Main Event, when 2,803 players sat down to play poker. We could have a maximum field in this event.
We will update this story later in the day.
12:30 Update
As over 2,000 players streamed into the Amazon Room, they were greeted with a horrifying site: the Poker Peek cards. There have not been enough replacement cards delivered, so yesterday's nightmare remains today.
Due to the fact that my PokerStars avatar is now that of Shannon Elizabeth, I felt compelled to instruct her about the cards. "I thought they fixed those yesterday," she said. Duly noted, she went about unpacking her purse full of more electronic equipment than a Fifth Avenue camera store.
"The start time has officially been pushed back to 1:00PM," said WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla. This should push the start times of the $5k NLH/LH event well past the 2:00 scheduled start time, as well as the $500 Casino Employees Event scheduled to start at 3:00PM.